After two Saturdays away from the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish are back home and playing their third consecutive Big Ten opponent. The Michigan State Spartans have climbed into the bottom of the Top 25 in the Coaches Poll on the strength of their defense, a unit that’s statistically at the top of the heap at the quarter-turn of the season.

They’ll go head to head with an Irish offense that’s hoping to get on a roll after a strong second half against Purdue. Just as important, it looks like the Irish defense might have found its way after a struggle to start the season.

An ugly stat has floated around the past few days. Notre Dame has already given up 71 points this season. That didn’t happen until the Irish played Oklahoma last season, eight games into the season.

But after holding Purdue to just one rushing first down and under 300 yards, the defense gained some momentum in the second half as well. Add in some personnel tweaks during the week, and a Spartans offense that looked lost in its first two games, and some momentum could be building as the Irish enter the toughest stretch of their season.

Let’s run through some final thoughts before kickoff.

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Just how good is this Spartans defense? We’ll find out this afternoon. Many have poked a few holes in the Spartans’ No. 1 ranking, considering they’ve played a schedule that’s a collective 0-7 against FBS competition.

Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi has referred to his unit’s performance as average, knowing that Saturday’s contest against the Irish will be their first true assessment.

Another Saturday, another chess match for Tommy Rees. Among Narduzzi’s comments were some complimentary things said about Irish senior Tommy Rees. While some Irish fans grumble about the offense’s refusal to “call it and haul it,” Narduzzi talked about the challenges Rees’s ability to check at the line of scrimmage present.

“It’s give and take. They have an athletic quarterback a year ago, and now they have a quarterback who can maybe mentally get them in better plays,” Narduzzi said of Rees. “He does a lot of checking with one second to go, to get them in a perfect play, and that’s to their advantage if they can do that.

“It’s a big chess match. It’s a lot easier to check it on offense than it is on defense, I think. You can have one guy out of place on defense and it’s a big problem.”

Who wins the battle in the trenches? The interior of the Spartans defense is manned by two senior defensive tackles, sixth year player Tyler Hoover and fifth year senior Micajah Reynolds, who averaging 6-foot-6, 298-pounds between them, and eleven years in a college weight room. While the Spartans’ starting DEs aren’t mammoth, the front seven has upperclassmen starting everywhere, less Shilique Calhoun, who has been one of the breakout stars of the defense.

Finding a way to control the line of scrimmage, even if it means some tough sledding for a while, is going to be key if the Irish want to find some offensive balance. Still, it’s hard to see the Irish’s 91st ranked ground game make its breakout against this group.

Will the Irish live and die by the pass?

When you hear the Irish head coach talk about “manufacturing runs” it leads you to believe that the Irish know it might be tough sledding up front. But controlling the football, and keeping on the positive ledger in the turnover department, is critical.

Not to mention throwing against this secondary. Tommy Rees will be challenged by some excellent personnel and this afternoon is a great test for TJ Jones, Davaris Daniels and company.

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Can Notre Dame win the battle on third down?

Something has to give. The Spartans have been playing elite third down defense, allowing just 16 percent of opponents third downs to be converted so far this season. The past two seasons, the Irish haven’t been much better, with Notre Dame beating the Spartans both times despite converting less that 25 percent of their chances (including a 1-for-14 effort last season).

Tommy Rees has done an excellent job on third down thus far, converting 24 of 44 tries. If he can convert at the same clip this afternoon, Notre Dame will be in very good shape.

Will the Irish defense dominate the Spartan’s offense? It should. Outside of the offensive explosion against Youngstown State, the Spartans offense scored just two touchdowns against Western Michigan and South Florida.

The Spartans hope they’ve found something with Connor Cook, who played very well last weekend against Youngstown State. But the Spartans offense has yet to score more than a touchdown in each of the Irish’s last two wins.

Running back Jeremy Langford has been the primary ball carrier, but Nick Hill has been more dangerous. They’re listed as co-starters with battering ram Riley Bullough.

Big week for The Observer. Not just for its advertising revenues, but for the classy gesture that outgoing senior quarterback Malik Zaire made this week.

Thursday’s edition included a letter to the editor from Zaire, who took to the student newspaper not to make headlines around the internet, but rather to thank the university for his experience in South Bend.

While Zaire’s time at Notre Dame is drawing to a close, he will leave as a proud alum. So while he’ll play football next season at another university, Zaire wrote the following in Thursday’s issue:

Dear Notre Dame students and staff,

My life changed for the better the moment I stepped onto the University of Notre Dame’s beautiful campus. The one goal I had set in my mind to achieve was to become a better man, a Notre Dame man. After growing through many trials and triumphs, the thing I’ve learned most from my experience was that if you don’t believe in yourself first, then no one else will. I believed in becoming a better man and succeeding through any circumstance, and I can say that I’ve truly accomplished that. I often refer to the famous quote from the movie “Catch Me If You Can” that was well put by Frank Abagnale:

“Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out.”

I’ve put my heart, soul and passion into the University, the football program, the South Bend community and the Irish community worldwide. I have the unbelievable honor to represent this University to the fullest as a student and soon-to-be alumni. Thank you to the amazing students and staff that I’ve met through the years for helping me grow into the person I’ve always wanted to be. I love the Irish and will always be an Irish alum no matter where I go! I look forward to keeping in touch. Let’s change the world!

Go Irish!

Malik Zaire

Senior
Dec. 7

Zaire is expected to compete for a starting quarterback job next year as a graduate transfer. He’s reportedly taken a visit to Wisconsin and plans to visit North Carolina as well, just two of several programs on the radar as Zaire looks to step in and win a starting Power 5 job.

It’s evaluation season. With college football’s regular season over, the focus now turns to the stay-or-go decision that faces many of college football’s best players. Return for another season? Or head to the NFL?

That’s the big question facing DeShone Kizer. Viewed as a can’t-miss prospect by some earlier in the season, Kizer now awaits feedback from the NFL’s advisory board, who’ll give him either a first-round grade, a second-round grade, or none — essentially serving as a message to return to school.

That feedback is something Kizer’s requested, with Brian Kelly revealing that Kizer is one of four underclassmen requesting a review, joined by Mike McGlinchey, Nyles Morgan and Quenton Nelson.

And while most still think it’s merely a formality before Kizer heads to the NFL, two of the media’s most well-established pundits, ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, are among those who actually think Kizer should stay in school.

There’s really only one guy right now, and he might not even enter the draft. That’s North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, a fourth-year junior who is in his first season as the starter. Trubisky has thrown 28 touchdown passes to only four interceptions, but he’s still green — with another year of seasoning, he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. He’s not ready to play right away in the NFL.

I don’t see any other first-rounders in the group. Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, a third-year sophomore, has to go back to school. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson has taken a step back this season. Underclassmen Luke Falkand Patrick Mahomes could use another year in school, and they don’t project as first-rounders.

McShay echoed Kiper’s evaluation of Kizer, stating: “Kizer needs another year.” And if the Irish get that, it means they’ll have a 1-2 depth chart of a third-year starter in Kizer and junior Brandon Wimbush, who saved a year of eligibility in 2016 and has three remaining.

Kizer’s been clear that he hasn’t made up his mind, planning on talking with his family about the decision in the weeks following the season. And with the year-end banquet this weekend with Notre Dame hosting the “Echoes,” that decision might come sooner than later.

Last year, the NFL draft wasn’t kind to the Irish roster. Four key players gave up eligibility to head to the NFL, with Ronnie Stanley going in the Top 10 to the Baltimore Ravens and Will Fuller joining him as a first-round selection after going to the Houston Texans. Even injured, JaylonSmith was taken near the top of the second round by Dallas andC.J. Prosise was a third-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks.

Jack Swarbrick spoke extensively about the state of the Notre Dame football program. Released last Friday and a part of Swarbrick’s weekly podcast, the Irish athletic director covered the laundry list of hot-button issues, including Brian Kelly’s status, the NCAA order to vacate wins that Notre Dame is appealing, and the challenge of winning football games in today’s environment.

The entire 25 minutes are worth a listen, as Swarbrick and Nolan cover just about every question and complaint that’s out there. And in case you don’t have that time, here’s a quick breakdown:

Swarbrick on the 2016 season.

“It was an extremely disappointing year. Every player, every coach, myself, other administrators involved in the program, we all share the same view. There’s no way around that conclusion. It’s not bad breaks, it’s not a play here, a play there. We didn’t do what we need to do. So we do start from that perspective.

“I think there’s a danger in overreacting to any one piece of information that you get in the course of the evaluation of football programs. That begins with, it looks one way from a this-season perspective, but it feels a little different to me from a two-season perspective.”

Swarbrick on the evaluation process:

“I’m looking at the program. Wins and losses are a huge indicia of where the program is, but it’s not the only one. More important to me, frankly, is the experience of our students. My interaction with them and what their interactions with the coaches, and the environment and are we meeting their expectations. Now, we clearly didn’t meet their expectations competitively this year, because they want to win, too. But on many of the other things, the program elements are in good shape.”

On the off-field issues, and the challenges that faced the football team this fall.

“I don’t want to do anything to minimize the disappointments, whether they’re competitive or unacceptable behavior in the last game at USC by one of our players, obviously, which just isn’t acceptable, it isn’t okay. The disciplinary issues we had to deal with at the front of the year, none of those are acceptable, all of those go into the evaluation, but those are the only ones that sort of get the public scrutiny. I’m dealing with the other 120 young men who are for the most part like my co-host James (Onwualu), doing everything right, making every right decision, having a real positive experience. You’ve got to look at it all, not just isolated elements of it.

Discussing the disappointment of the NCAA’s ruling to vacate wins and why the university is appealing:

“If you’d merely expelled the students, you wouldn’t get this penalty. But because you went though an educative process and kept them in school and adjusted credits and made those things, you subjected yourself to this penalty. That seems like a bad message to send, but that’s one that we’re continuing to advocate for down the road.”

On the challenges of winning in today’s college football, as opposed to 30 years ago.

“I think undoubtedly it is harder. Now, people from that era may have a different view. But there are things that make it harder. But it doesn’t make any difference. It’s harder to win basketball games than it was back then. It’s harder to do a number of things.

“We don’t treat any of that as an excuse or a reason to have different goals. I sort of embrace that. Some of those things that you might view as obstacles are ultimately the things that we have to offer young people. It is the eliteness of the institution and the quality of the education. You can’t say it’s an obstacle and then talk about how great it is because it helps you. That’s the way it is. I wouldn’t trade anything for the circumstance we now compete in. I think it is exactly what it should be. We have to do a better job with it, that’s all.”

Receiver Corey Holmes is transferring from Notre Dame. The junior, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, will look for a new program after earning his degree this summer, Tom Loy of Irish247 reports.

Holmes told Irish247:

“It’s just the best decision for me. I’m graduating this summer and I’m just going to find the best fit for me to finish things up.”

Even after a strong spring, Holmes saw little action this season, though he played extensively against USC in the season finale. He had four catches against the Trojans, a large part of his 11 on the year, also his career total.

That Holmes wasn’t able to find a consistent spot in the rotation is likely a big reason why he’s looking for a new opportunity. After opening eyes after posting a 4.42 40-yard dash during spring drills, the Irish coaching staff looked for a way to get Holmes onto the field. But after losing reps at the X receiver on the outside, Holmes bounced inside and out, never finding a regular spot in the rotation, playing behind Torii Hunter Jr. and Kevin Stepherson on the outside and CJ Sanders and Chris Finke in the slot.

Holmes has two seasons of eligibility remaining, redshirting his sophomore season. Because he’ll earn his degree this summer, he’ll be able to play immediately next year. Irish 247 reports that Holmes is looking at Miami, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona and North Carolina, though he’ll have a semester to find other fits.